In the late 1940s, reports of UFOs and “flying saucers” became an American cultural obsession. Movies such as Invaders from Mars (1953), Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956), and other pop media capitalized on the mainstream fascination. Even people like Eleanor Roosevelt were intrigued by the reports of “flying saucers.” After interviewing a pair of pilots on her television program who reported a UFO sighting, Roosevelt received written material from a fringe group that believed UFOs were piloted by interdimensional beings. Roosevelt wrote to J. Robert Oppenheimer in May of 1950, asking what he thought of UFOs. Here is what he had to say.

For transcript and more information, visit https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-11271